


I've Got Your Number

by willowjadeflower



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Gen, Original Character(s), pearl's got game, some light crushing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-12 20:01:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16002266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willowjadeflower/pseuds/willowjadeflower
Summary: So, you know how Pearl's got all those phone numbers in her inventory...?A few short stories about how Pearl got some more phone numbers after the events of “Last One Out of Beach City”





	1. Chapter 1

**"Call me" In Red Ink**

The wooden boards creak under Janine’s feet as she trotted through Funland, bored. She lost her friend somewhere in the midst of whirling rides and screaming children, and with the sun beaming hot on her back she really wished she’d just stayed home.   

Janine slowly drew the ridiculously sweet lemonade into her mouth as she looked around, chewing on the thick straw. Of course the drink had to be expensive - it was an amusement park, after all - but the iciness was at least soothing on her tongue. Maybe she should just find a shady corner and sit until her friend calls. She saw an arcade back there, she could go there until her friend remembers that Janine had indeed been tagging along.

_BAM!_

Lost in her thoughts, Janine barely noticed through her slow trudging someone else chattering loudly and hurrying across the boardwalk, slamming right into her. 

“Oof!” Janine choked, almost spitting out her lemonade. That someone felt like a _rock_ \- what the heck? The impact knocked her to the ground, causing her to fall right on her behind, the drink squashed in her hand as she instinctively squeezed to keep a hold on it. Her wrist hurt where she had thrown out a hand to soften her landing. “Ow…”

“Steven!” she heard a screech somewhere above her. “What did I say about watching where you’re going?!” 

“S-sorry!” 

Janine groaned, shaking out her aching wrist as she looked over to her fellow contributor to the collision, to her surprise finding a small, chubby boy with fluffy black hair scrambling to a sitting position. A pair of long, pale legs stepped into her field of vision, an unnecessarily lovely voice chiding, “Honestly, the ride’s not going anywhere.”

“But - but the Kitty Coaster!” the kid whined as the owner of the voice picked him up from under the arms and neatly placed him back on his feet. 

“Yes, Steven,” she said, and Janine looked up, up to see the back of her head. Sweeping peach pink hair, a teal satin sash ribbon in a single loop at the waist, tall slim figure. Then the figure turned around, and Janine felt her heart skip a beat. 

“Are you alright?” said the pretty girl, looking over her shoulder and down at Janine. Her nose was long, large, and pointed, and for some reason there’s a large gem gleaming white against her pale forehead, but -

“I really like your hair” fell right out of Janine’s mouth.

It was part funny, part mortifying as the other girl is taken aback, cheeks going blue.

“I’m so sorry!” burst the little kid, and Janine blinked blankly at him. “Let me help you up!” 

He stuck a hand in front of her face, and Janine’s dry mouth refused to work for any word except for “S-sure” as she took it, eyes darting towards the pretty girl. “I - I’m okay, don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure?” said the girl, looking up and down Janine critically. Janine could feel herself flush. “I know humans can be rather fragile…”

At once Janine felt her pride take over, and she gestures with a thumb towards herself. “Hey, I used to be a volleyball player, I’ve taken way worse falls.” Her brain vaguely pointed out that the girl used _human_ as casually and distantly as someone who… wasn’t… but she couldn’t quite focus on that when the girl was watching her with a frown.

“Worse?” the girl says, her tone not judgmental per se, but... “That doesn’t sound too good.” 

Janine felt heat bloom in her cheeks. 

“Still, sorry about that.” Janine looked down at the kid, who was staring up at her apologetically. “I got too excited.” 

She couldn’t help but smile - kid was cute. “Like I said, don’t worry about it.” She lifted an arm and flexed it. “It’d take a lot more to take me down!”

The kid at once got starry-eyed, and Janine beamed with pride.

“Right, well, Steven, we better get in line,” said the girl, placing her fingertips together in front of her as she looked at him. 

“Right!” Steven turned around and waved at Janine. “See you!” 

“Bye,” Janine said, and watched as the girl spun neatly on a heel and started walking off primly, Steven chattering happily as he trailed after her. Wow.  

Was she his mom? Big sister? She couldn’t quite tell, but there’s a fondness in the girl’s smile as she looks at Steven. 

Her drink crushed in her hand, she looked around the amusement park. She should really call her friend.

Maybe coming to Funland wasn’t too bad of an idea after all.

__

“You’re going to love this,” Carlie insisted as she gripped the handle bars. Janine remained unconvinced.

“It’s called the ‘Kitty Coaster’,” she said.  

“Exactly,” Carlie said.

“It’s for kids.”

“Shush-shush-shush,” Carlie said, poking at her. “It’s still a rollercoaster! And it goes right over the ocean!”

“…Right,” Janine said. She only sighed as she folded her arms over the lowered handle bar, looking down at the other riders still boarding in front of them. Carlie had dragged her right to the back, insisting that “this is the best seat, you get whipped around all over the place!” and everything. 

Then she caught the sight of peach pink hair, and she jerks upright in her seat.

She could hear the pretty voice only faintly from where she sat in the back, but the girl’s clothes and figure were unmistakeable. 

“Oh?” Janine stiffened at Carlie’s voice, slowly turning her head towards her friend’s smug face. “Ohoho?” Carlie’s eyes dart over to where Janine’s gaze had been aimed. “Is a pretty girl catching Janine’s attention?”

“Sh-shut up!” Janine stammered, flushing red. 

“Oho, really?!” 

“Shh!” Janine hissed. Suddenly Carlie’s voice is too loud, the wind blowing in the wrong direction. “She could hear you!”

“Which one is it?” Carlie said, sounding way too excited. “The one with the glasses? Curly hair?”

“N-no one!” Janine’s eyes betray her as they dared to glance back over towards the girl’s direction. Her finger was held up as if instructing, the kid - Steven - staring at her with starry eyes. 

“Uh huuuuuh,” Carlie said. The ride began moving, much to Janine’s relief. “I’m not letting you off the hoooook ~”

“Grr,” Janine muttered, but the ride made a jolt as if started up the first hill, and she fell silent, looking out over the water. Her cheeks still felt warm - darn it! 

Suddenly, near the top, the ride stops abruptly. 

And stayed there. Stuck near the top.

“Uh,” Janine said, frowning as she twists in her seat to look back. “Is this… supposed to happen…?”

According to the panicked look on the Funland employee at the ride controls, apparently not.

Then, with a horrific creak, the ride starts falling _backwards._

Even worse, the second train was coming to a stop at the boarding area behind them for the passengers to get off. 

There’s a clamor of panicked yells and cries, Carlie’s shriek loud in her ears, but Janine’s horrified scream was stuck in her throat. They were in the _back_ \- they were going to crash right into the front of the second train -!

Then she heard Steven’s voice - _"Pearl!”_ \- and upon recognizing it turned her head to see the pretty girl elegantly leap from her seat, flipping over Janine and _pulling a spear out of her head_ before landing on the very back of the train. Janine choked on her own gasp - _she's so close, her foot’s right next to my face_ \- and the girl lets out a cry as she stabs the track with her spear, stopping the ride abrupt and harsh against its shaft. 

Janine gasped for breath, trying to slow her pounding heart. The previous few seconds had flown by so fast, she’d almost wouldn’t believe they had happened, had it not for the girl still _there_ , panting, her hands tight on her spear. 

There’s a moment of pounding silence, then -

“YEAH, GO PEARL!” Steven cheered, like this was a regular soccer tournament and the girl - _Pearl_ \- had just scored a goal. 

The others start cheering, too, and Janine let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, falling back over the handle bars with a cry of relief. She looked back up at Pearl, who straightened up, keeping a firm grip on her spear. Pearl looked at her. A smirk glided gracefully over her face.

“You’re welcome,” Pearl said, almost haughtily, and Janine’s heart stopped.

“Please step on my face,” she said, and went tomato red as Carlie howled with laughter next to her. 

“Huh?” Pearl said, clearly confused. “Is this another thing you humans engage in?”

She looked almost ready to actually do it, too, when Carlie said, “Ohmigosh, that was amazing! You literally saved us!”

Pearl flushed proudly. “Well, I do protect your planet and species on a daily basis,” she said with a casual shrug, and dang, Janine didn’t think she could fall harder.

“Alright, please don’t move!” someone at the boarding area called, looking terrified. Probably the manager of the place.

“Roger!” Pearl called back.

And, to Janine’s relief and disappointment, it didn’t take long for the security to guide each person safely off the ride, her included. Pearl remained, poised with a strength and elegance that didn’t seem human.  _Then again,_ Janine thought, _the way she was speaking she might not be._

Then she shook her head, stunned at her own thoughts. Of course she’s human, what else could she be?!

“Hey,” Carlie said once Pearl was permitted to loosen her spear from the tracks (it just vanished in a mist of sparkles) and leap impossibly back onto the boardwalk, nudging Janine with a sly grin on her face. “Hey hey hey.” 

“If you say a single word…” Janine grumbled. 

“Duuude, get her number!” 

“W-wha?! No way!”

“Then give her your number, come on! Before she vanishes forever!”

Janine sputtered, looking back and forth between her friend and Pearl, who was talking to a sparkly-eyed Steven. “She’s - she’s totally out of my league…”

“Well, she’d be out of your _life_ if you don’t hurry up and give her your number!” Carlie said, shoving a pen at Janine’s chest.

“Okay, okay!” 

If anything it’d shut Carlie up, so Janine hurriedly pulled out her pamphlet for Funland and scribbled her number of the back, scrawling a quick, loopy “Call me” in red ink. 

“Gaah, pen’s not working,” she groused, clicking it uselessly.  

“Then use this one!” 

“How many pens do you have?!”

After carefully writing out her number messily with the paper on her thigh, she hesitantly approached Pearl. She looked back over her shoulder, Carlie grinning and giving her a thumbs up. Oh good grief.

“U-um,” she stammered, and then Pearl turned around and the words disappeared somewhere in her mouth.

“Oh, hello again,” Pearl said.

“Uh, hi! Er, again! I -“ After scrambling for words, Janine shoved the paper towards Pearl. “Call me!”

Then she darted away, heart pounding, Carlie laughing in the background. Behind her she could hear Steven go “Another number! Pearl, you’ve got to get a phone now!” and feel her cheeks flush.

Still, there’s a grin on her face.

Maybe going to Funland was a good idea after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D
> 
> when i saw all those phone numbers i knew... this would be a fun write
> 
> no worries, i plan on writing more phone number stories ^.^ 
> 
> thank u for reading! loves ~ willoz


	2. Chapter 2

**lipstick stain**

angélique liked pearl.

she enjoyed the whole gang, the oddities they bring. her fondest memory was one of her firsts at the store, the second or third shift at the grocery’s cash register when a small purple being dashed into the store, hauled the entire stash of cookie cat ice cream out of the fridge, and ran out cackling.  

the being who angélique would come to know as pearl had come in quickly after, brimming with annoyance and embarrassment, and proceeded to slap a perfectly neat stack of exactly one hundred and fifty one dollar bills into angélique’s hand.

the whole incident was incredibly amusing, and angélique was happy to see pearl - the designated grocery shopper, she quickly assumed - again rather soon. she had asked about the cookie cats, and pearl had off-handedly mentioned her steven, which prompted angélique to grin and pull out a picture of her sweet three year old (“I'm a single mom myself, you know”). and they had traded stories and talked about chores - pearl had a strange enthusiasm that angélique envied - and pearl left with multiple cans of canned corn (“steven wants to collect enough so that he doesn’t have to pay money for a group recreational activity.”)

it didn’t take long for her to get to meet steven (“hi! i’m steven!”) along with his exuberant purple caretaker (“i’m amethyst and i like to eat ROCKS!”) and his other, visor-donning guardian that stood tall and intimidating (“the name’s Garnet. pearl won’t take the orange juice.”) they were all a bit odd, but it’s what made her shifts at the grocery store a bit more bearable.

pearl would come in the most with the funniest questions, oddest remarks, and almost unnecessarily off-handed and thought-provoking things (“i just recently learned that chickens emerge from eggs - so these eggs provide them with enough nutrients without needing to get them from other life-forms? oh, the chicken ‘mother’ provides those nutrients? enough for a single life-form? and then those would grow into chickens and provide more nutrients for more chickens? how interesting… i mean interesting that humans take nutrients from these potential chickens to sustain themselves, isn’t it? it’s actually not too different from how gems are created, but i suppose it’s less… destructive. at least humans aren’t taking over or hurting life on the planet - right?”)

so angélique quite liked pearl.

so when she saw the familiar yet somehow still mysterious being at the bar she was tending one night, she called her over with a smile.

(“good evening, hun.”

“oh! this is a surprise!”

“second jobs are typically necessary for a person like me. but no need to talk about that - you look radiant tonight.”

“o-oh, do i?” pearl had flushed and straightened the collar of her leather jacket. it was a good look on her. “i figured i’d try something new for a change.”

“hey, change is good,” angélique said. “how else are you gonna move forward and grow, i say?”

“well,” pearl said, seeming to grow her confidence back - she always seemed to have a demeanor that emanates _i know who i_ _am and what i'm h_ _ere for_. “i usually don’t drink, so…”

“not even water?” angélique liked to joke.

“no,” pearl said, with an absolutely straight face. and then leaned forward on the counter with a grin. “i did try drinking juice not too long ago, though."

after laughing up a storm, angélique said, “are you looking for recommendations? of course the classic is some good ol’… root beer. root beer float if you want to go crazy."

“i’ve only the faintest idea of what that is,” pearl said. “i’ll have it."

“nice.”

“you know,” pearl said as angélique slid her the drink, after what seemed like some time of consideration, “humans aren’t creatures that i could call ‘radiant’ - after all, as organic beings it is physically impossible for them to radiate light.” she then seemed to clear her throat, looking a bit embarrassed. “but you look ‘radiant’ too, i suppose."

“ohoho, I like this new pearl,” angélique teased.

pearl beamed and sat straighter, not unlike like a preening bird. “i’m starting to like her, too,” pearl said.)

later that night (or early that morning?) neither of them had touched a single drink, but angélique left pearl one of the store’s business cards she always has in her pocket, marked with her phone number and a bright red lipstick stain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tried out a different style this time around :3 it's a short one for the meantime while i work on the longer third chapter - thank u for reading!
> 
> loves ~ willoz


	3. Chapter 3

**Don’t Forget!**

_BAM!_

There was a satisfying sting in Lindy's palm as she landed, watching her jump serve send the ball careening on the other side of the net with a spray of sand.

“Wow! Nice receive!” Ari called from the sidelines, and Lindy resisted kicking sand in his direction.

“That was a serve, you dork!” she huffed, marching to the other side to grab the ball.

“Oh, no spike?”

“I can’t properly practice spikes without someone setting the ball.”

“I’ll give you some tosses,” Ari said. Lindy rolled her head over to see the wicked grin on his face.

“Uh huh. Totally,” she said, walking back to the edge of the court. She had long forgone shoes, the sand hot but not too unbearable under the calloused soles of her feet. It was a particular challenge, running up on the shifting, unpredictable surface that sand is, but a good one. 

“Aw, come on, I’ll just throw it really really high, you don’t need sight for that!” Ari whined, and Lindy’s eye twitched. 

“It’s not that you’re blind, it’s that I know you’ll chuck it in the worst direction possible on purpose,” Lindy said dryly, prepping for another serve.

“Whaaaa, this distrust, it hurts!” Ari said, grasping the front of his shirt dramatically and throwing his other hand to his forehead. Lindy rolled her eyes at him. 

“What, you saying you wouldn’t?”

“… Well, I mean, it would be really funny…”

“I will throw this ball at you.”

“Ya -!”

Lindy threw the ball into the air, watching it as she began her run. The sun was unforgivingly shining right in her face, but she could just see the curve of the ball as she jumps - 

“BadadadadaDADA BAM!”

Lindy just barely withheld from cursing when she swung her arm too late, her fingers just bumping the ball. “Darn it, Ari! Stop throwing me off my rhythm!”

“You gotta practice ignoring outside noises, Lindy! The other team’s cheering squad aren’t going to let you off easy!”

“If you’re just messing with my practice, go get donuts or something,” Lindy grumbled, seizing the runaway ball and spinning it in her hands. “I think Rose Lily and Val are at the donut shop over there.”

“Aw, but I wanna hang with you!” Ari protested. It would’ve been a sweet comment if Lindy didn’t know he just sought entertainment from annoying her to her wit’s end. 

“We’ll hang later. Aren’t you like, burning?” she said, walking over and tugging at his sweatshirt. 

“…No,” Ari lied.

Lindy barely had the time to raise a skeptical eyebrow when an enormous sound erupted from somewhere behind her, followed by a massive shift of the earth under her feet that threw off her balance. 

She sputtered as she fumbled over the moving sands to stay on her feet, finally letting herself fall safely on her back. Somewhere in the corner of her eye she could see Ari was sent sprawling. “What the -?!”

“Lindy!” Ari’s shriek was lost in the cry of the - _thing_ \- that just sprouted from beneath the sands and towered over her, twisting as if in agony. 

It looked like a giant, hideous spider, only its black surface had white splotches scattered all over itself, as if peppered with a horrifying form of measles. Where its eyes should be was only a single, awkwardly shaped gemstone. Worse, it had a mouth. A big, round mouth on where its underbelly would be. 

Lindy kicked up sand as she dashed to where Ari was struggling to stand, wrapping her arms around his torso and lifting him up with one swoop. Ari wailed and flailed like a wet cat, making Lindy grunt and hiss, “It’s me! It’s me!”

“Wow great, try saying that before grabbing me from the back next time?! What’s going on?”

Lindy stared at the creature, which shrieked again and started skittering towards them. “Gah!” she gasped and began racing for higher ground, practically dragging Ari in her haste. “Just be glad you can’t see that thing!”

“What thing? What does it look like?” Ari had to shout above the increasing noise. “Why does it sound like that?!”

“Big! Ugly!” was all Lindy could spit.

“Wow, so very helpful!” 

“Shut up! I’m trying not to die here! Can’t you run any faster?”

“Uh, have you _tried_ running for your life in sand?!”

“ _I’m doing that right now!_ ”

Unfortunately, sand is rather difficult to run in, and the creature was quickly gaining on them with the use of its unfairly multiple legs. 

“Gosh _darn it_ ,” Lindy growled. “Ari! When I say so _run!_ ”

“Where?” Ari yelled back. “In case you haven’t noticed I lost my cane back there!”

“Then run as far from the sound as possible!” Lindy ordered, sharply aware of the creature nipping at their heels. “Got it?”

She didn’t wait for Ari’s inevitable protest because the creature was _right there_ and so she seized Ari tight and skidded to a stop, her feet screaming from the burn of the friction, and hurled Ari as far as she could just as the creature was upon her, drenching her in its shadow. 

It shrilled and slammed a leg down at her - Lindy darted to the right and threw herself down to the ground, sliding with a foot in front and dropping to her back as the creature lumbered above her. Eyes stinging from the flying sand, she wrapped her arms around one of the back legs and dropped her full weight into a roll - the creature shrieked and stumbled, it has so many legs it's sure to keep its balance but its legs were still thin, so thin, some of them were already up and clawing at the air, and if she could just pull one of them along far enough -

“hYaHAAHHHHHHH!”

A shuddering _BAM_ slammed hard into the creature, sending it sprawling, legs scrabbling at nothing as it lands on its back.

For a moment, Lindy found herself suspended in the air, having not released her grip soon enough, the leg ripped unceremoniously out of her arms and sending her flying -

Only for her to land oh so lightly in someone’s arms, a firm embrace that allowed Lindy to gasp for breath. She could see something wheel right into the creature, causing it to groan, as the someone holding her landed gracefully a good few feet away. 

“Stay here,” the mysterious someone said, and Lindy let herself hop down from their arms before looking over wonderingly only for the someone to leap impossibly high, toes pointed and spear in hand. 

“Get ‘em, P!” another voice yelled by the creature, where something purple and gleaming was tying its legs down. Lindy looked back up to where the mysterious someone was flying right above the creature, spear high above their head, before sending it whirling in a deadly shot right at the creature’s gaping mouth - before Lindy knew it she was running towards the scene -

_RIIII-IP!_  

Just in time, the creature tore its bindings and slapped the spear away like a squeaky dog toy. Lindy could hear the mysterious someone’s cry of alarm as the freed legs whacked them out of the sky, sending them down in a geyser of sparkling sand. 

The spear rolled to a stop, not too far away.

“Whoa, whoa!” says the other voice, and Lindy looked up from where she snatched up the spear to see a short, purple person (wait - purple?) back up, a whip tight in their hands. The creature had, with a groaning effort, flipped itself back upright, roaring at the purple person.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Lindy grunted as she flipped the spear in her hands, getting a feel for the unfamiliar weapon. The blade was long and spiraled down the upper shaft, different from the long-shafted and red-tasseled spears she was used to, but it’d do in a pinch.

While the creature was distracted, aiming its strikes at the purple person (said person had collapsed into a speeding ball of dodging excellence), Lindy brought the spear to her chest horizontally, right hand on the base, as she ran towards it, its elegant end aimed at the creature.

_Legs._

She jumped into position, a low wide stance, and let the spear slide through her left hand for the first, pinpointed strike at the base of a leg.  

The creature barely had time to register her attacks - five, six, fifteen hits in a matter of seconds - before she had spun the spear and cleanly sliced off the leg. 

The next scream was _horrible_ \- Lindy gritted her teeth and dodged the widely stabbing legs. The lost leg bounced somewhere in the sand and disappeared in a poof of clouds and sparkles.  

The purple person seemed to see her and gain momentum, their whip wrapping around a leg. Lindy rolled underneath a flying leg attack, inwardly groaning in irritation at the feeling of sand going down her pants, and sliced the whip-trapped leg off.

“WHOO, YEAH!” cheered the purple person, all too soon as a leg promptly knocked them off their feet. 

“CAREFUL!” Lindy couldn’t help but shriek, ducking under another leg. 

A yell growing in volume caught her attention, and she dared to glance over to see the mysterious someone, miraculously recovered from what looked like a devastating blow, wielding two spears and a terrifyingly fierce look on their face. 

Ho boy. Lindy was quick to get out of their way.

With a shriek the creature tried to hold up its legs in front of itself defensively, seeming to forget it’s already lost two legs, and was quick to lose another four with a blur of graceful flashes of the mysterious someone’s dual spears. _Poof, poof, poof, poof!_

The mysterious someone kicked off of the creature's head to gain air, flipping somewhere high above it, ready to stab downwards - but the creature, having lost so many legs, merely tucked its remaining two against its body and rolled out of the way, nearly squashing Lindy and purple person along the way.  

Air sharp in Lindy’s chest, Lindy dove out of the way, letting go of the spear to allow her outreached hands to guide herself into a safe fall, looking back over her shoulder as she slid on her front. The mysterious someone landed on the sand again with such a force, the impact nearly blew Lindy away. 

Distantly, she heard an “I’m okay!” from the purple person as she heaved herself to her feet again, blinking sand out of her eyes.

And it seemed the creature would just keep rolling away, if a brightly colored volleyball hadn’t smacked it right in the gem.

“HEY, LOUDMOUTH!”

Lindy’s heart nearly jumped out of her mouth when she saw the small form of Ari yelling at the massive creature, spinning on his heel, and sprinting away from the sound of its resulting scream. 

_OH MY GOSH YOU IDIOT_ nearly overtook Lindy’s realization of the chance Ari’s given the three of them, and it took her a second before she cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, “ARI OVER HERE!”

Amazingly, Ari heard her voice through the foghorn of the creature’s voice (or maybe not that amazing - his hearing’s keen enough to hear her yell through his headphones whenever he was blasting music loud enough to destroy his eardrums, after all) and changed course, clearly depending solely on the sounds the creature was making to make a wide berth as he headed the other three’s direction.

Someone - no, two someones - landed next to her, and she looked over to see purple person and mysterious someone by her, wielding their weapons with a determined look on both of their faces. 

With a glance at them and at the creature, Lindy shouted over the noise of the creature’s roar, pointing: “I’m going to get Ari out of here! Purple person, get that thing to a stop, and mysterious someone, do your airborne attack!” 

The flash of surprise on their faces lasted but a moment. “Got it!” said the mysterious someone as purple person gave Lindy a wide grin. 

Lindy kept hollering to keep Ari on track, running towards him and the creature with the other two by her side. She barely noticed that she no longer carried a weapon, focused only on getting Ari _out of there._

“Ari I’m gonna grab you I’m gonna grab you I’m right here,” the words flew out of her mouth as she got closer to Ari, seizing him and, feeling his arms wrap around her and grab the back of her shirt, twisted on the ball of her foot to dive to the side, letting the creature barrel past them. 

After they’ve rolled to a stop, Lindy loosened her fingers from Ari’s curls where she had her hand tucked to protect the back of his head. 

“Ohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh,” Ari was gabbling, eyes wide and hands flapping. Whether it was out of fear or excitement was yet to be determined. 

“You okay? You hurt anywhere?” Lindy demanded.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Ari said. So Lindy whacked him against the shoulder. “Ya!”

“What were you thinking?!” Lindy said, looking over her shoulder to check to see how the others were doing. “You could’ve, you could’ve gotten…”

“What? What’s happening?” Ari asked urgently, hands grabbing at air until they found Lindy’s shoulder and shook her wildly.

“Purple person got the thing tied up with a whip,” Lindy said. “And mysterious someone is… they’re trying to stab it with their spears but the creature’s desperately trying to fend them off with its last remaining legs…”

“Dang, it’s like a final boss on the last stretch of its health bar,” Ari said. 

“They’re having trouble,” Lindy said, standing up. “It’s mouth… it has more legs inside its mouth…”

“The heck?” 

“What is that thing?” Lindy half-whispered, watching with tension crawling up her shoulders. “I can’t do anything, I don’t have the spear anymore…”

“The ball!” Ari suddenly yelled in her ear, and she jumped. “The ball, get the ball!”

For a second her mind spun in confused circles. “The ball…?” Then it clicked. The volleyball. It bounced off the creature and is probably still nearby…

Lindy hurriedly looked over the sands, bouncing on the balls of her feet in frustration. It could be half-buried, blown away already from the fight - 

“There!” she shouted, and with a glance at the creature took off, Ari cheering behind her. She scooped it up from the sand and turned towards the creature, its mouth gaping, two more legs battling the mysterious someone, who kept leaping off its attacks and trying to find an opening. Lindy took a deep breath.

“HEY!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. “LOOK OVER HERE!"

To her relief the mysterious someone heard her, and jumped out, towards Lindy… the creature turned its body so that its mouth was facing her, facing _Lindy_ …

“LINDY NICE SERVE!” she could hear Ari scream from the side, and she would’ve snorted had her focus not sharpened on the creature’s mouth. Determinedly ignoring the screams of the creature, she tossed the ball, began her run up, and jumped.

_don’t miss don’t miss don’t miss don’t miss_ she thought frantically as she stared at the ball, slamming her hand against it with all her strength, her cheeks puffed and her breath lost in her throat from the exertion. 

It flew straight into the creature’s mouth, crushing its legs from the force of the serve. The creature’s body reared back, frozen just for a moment in shock. 

But that moment was all the mysterious someone needed, and they flipped forward with their spear before them. They did not miss.

_POOF!_

An explosion of cloud and sand blew Lindy's hair out of her face, though it was sheer relief that made her stumble on the landing, slipping and landing with a yell on her back end. Ari's laughing somewhere in the back, and Lindy could only stare as the other two people walked over to where the creature once lay, the dust clearing. The mysterious someone picked up a black gem with cloudy blotches of white with careful fingers. A pale bubble formed around the gemstone, and disappeared.

Lindy took that weirdness to mean that the crazy creature was gone, and flopped back on her back with a long "gaaaaaah."

"Lindy! Lindy! Did we win?" 

Lindy cracked one eye open to see Ari bouncing next to her. "Yeah."

"Yeah!" Ari cheered, punching the air with a fist and nearly stomping on Lindy's face. 

"Hey, watch it!"  
  
"Sorry!"

 "YO!" Lindy turned her head to see purple person running up, long hair flying behind them. "THAT WAS SO COOL!"

"I KNOW, RIGHT!" Ari yelled right back, raising his hands for a double high-five. He probably regretted it right after once purple person smacked his palms with so much force it nearly sent him sprawling backwards. 

"You were  _crazy_ , dude!" Purple person laughed. "You threw the ball right in its gem!"

"Did I really?" Ari said excitedly. "I can't see, so I have no idea!"

"Oh yeah? Well you did! And it was AWESOME!" 

"YAS!" Ari was hyped now - Lindy groaned and threw an arm over her eyes. "Lindy, Lindy, did you hear? I'm awesome! Tell me I'm awesome!"

"You're awesome, Ari," Lindy mumbled.

A few more footsteps by her ear, and the voice of the mysterious someone saying, "Well, yes, but still extremely dangerous. The two of you could've been seriously injured!"

Lindy lowered her arm, squinting up at the mysterious someone. By her, Ari groaned. "Ugggh, another Lindy..."

Lindy was quick to sit up and give Ari a warning pinch behind the knee. "Y-yes, but that goes for you two too," Lindy said, fumbling with her words a little as she stood. The mysterious someone was frowning, arms crossed, and Lindy mimicked the pose right back. She knew it made the bulging biceps and deltoids she had taken great care of nurturing stand out all the more under her tank top.

"That's different, we're the Crystal Gems. We're supposed to protect humanity from corrupted Gems," the mysterious someone said with a flair of importance.

"Oh?" Lindy said. "Sounds impressive. Still looked like you were having a little trouble there."

She could practically feel the gaze of the purple person and attention of Ari, darting from her to the mysterious someone, who sniffed.

"We would've been fine. We usually take care of these things withoutthe help of humans," the mysterious someone said. 

"Well, I mean, we didn't have Garnet this time, so..." the purple person said. 

"Amethyst," mysterious someone hissed.

"We 'humans', what, so you're not?" Lindy eyed the gemstone embedded in the mysterious someone's head. "For such an outworldly threat, we 'humans' seemed to stand up to the test pretty well, don't you think?"

"Ah, don't stroke your ego, Lindy, I heard you wail in panic more than a couple times back there," Ari said.

" _Ari_ ," Lindy growled.

"That's my name, by the way," Ari said to the purple person - Amethyst - with a crooked grin. "I use he/him pronouns."

"Nice to meet you, Ari! I'm Amethyst! She's and her's!"

"Nice!"

Lindy and mysterious someone looked over at them, then looked at each other, at their own posturing.

Then the two of them broke into giggles.

"Aiyo, what are we doing?" Lindy snickered, throwing her hand to her forehead in embarrassment. "I should be thanking you for saving my butt back there. You practically caught me in midair."

"As I recall, it was you who landed the blow that gave me an opening for the last strike," the mysterious someone said admiringly. "Those were some excellent spear techniques, by the way. I've only come across that form a few times before."

"Oh, you know," Lindy said, waving a hand, "I happened to learn some weapons during my time learning kungfu. I haven't done that stuff since high school, I was pretty rusty."

"Nonsense, if anything that makes your efforts even more awe-inspiring," the mysterious someone said. Their eyes seemed to be glowing with excitement. "In fact, would it bother you to show me a few of those moves...?"

"O-oh, yeah! Totally!" Lindy was totally not flushing. "I mean, it wouldn't bother me at all!"

"Yeah Lindy," Ari snickered. "Show 'em some good moves."

"You should show Lindy some moves too, Pearl," Amethyst said, wearing an identical mischevious grin.

"Oh, you," Pearl said. Lindy was giving Ari the stink eye. 

"Pearl, right?" Ari said, unfortunately unable to see Lindy's rather excellent stink eye, "Do you use she/her?"

"Me? Yes?"

"Cool, so does Lindy," Ari said, and Lindy should've really read his smile more quickly, "speaking of Lindy, did you know that she used to be a  _really_ flexible gymnast -"

"OKAY, WE'RE GOING NOW," Lindy said very loudly, scooping Ari up like the oversized kitten he was, "why don't I give you my number and you can call me about exchanging spear techniques later?"

"Oh!" Pearl said, clapping her hands together. "That would be wonderful!"

"Wonderful," Ari repeated, still grinning.

"Shut it, you," Lindy said. "Um - oh, shoot, I don't have my phone with me, or anything to write with..."

"Here," Pearl said, closing her eyes and lifting a hand. Her gemstone suddenly gleamed with light, and, after a couple of - really nerdy, actually - dance moves (darn, Lindy's already smitten), a piece of scrap notebook paper along with a black marker emerged from her head. Lindy was suddenly keenly aware of their hands brushing as Pearl passed her the paper and marker.

"Thank you," Lindy remembered to say, releasing Ari and positioning him to scribble her number on his back. 

"...What am I, a table?" Ari grumbled as Lindy decided to also include her email, just in case, along with the words "DON'T FORGET" at the top. She was almost tempted to underline everything when Ari slouched off, clearly done with his brief gig as a table.

"Here," Lindy said, flourishing the paper towards Pearl. As Pearl took it, Lindy couldn't help but say, "I, um, also gave you my email, so feel free to contact me however way you feel more comfortable."  
  
"Alright, then," Pearl said with a smile. "I'll be sure to do that."  
  
Lindy felt silly and warm. "I'll be checking," she said, before feeling herself grow even warmer. "I have to go now, immediately."

"Okay," Pearl said, looking amused. "Well, good-bye!"

"See ya, Ari!" Amethyst said, tossing a crumpled ball of paper to him as she followed after Pearl. "That's my number! Let's keep in touch!"

Lindy caught it for him as Ari said, trying not to laugh, "Amethyst, I can't read." 

"I'll read it for you, Ari," Lindy said.

"Cool, thanks! I  _can_ text, though!" Ari called after Amethyst. "I'll text you! About very important advancements!"

Lindy grabbed the hood of his sweatshirt and began dragging him back up the beach, kicking up the volleyball as he continued shouting after Amethyst, who happily shouted back.

"Yes, yes, I'm glad you made a friend," Lindy said, "don't strain your voice."

"Yes, mom," Ari said.

"I'm only a few years older than you," Lindy said. "We're in the same college."

"Whatever you say, mom. Ahh - no, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Sigh."

"Hey, they were pretty cool, huh?"

"Yes," Lindy said, slumping forward. "Almost made me forget about that rather... eventful event." Her voice turned warm. "I do hope Pearl gives me a call, though..."

"Heh, gaaaay."

"You don't get to talk, Mr. I-Will-Pine-After-the-Boy-Of-My-Dreams-And-Tell-Him-Nothing," Lindy said.

"That's a dumb nickname."

"You're a dumb nickname."

"That doesn't even - oh fudge! I forgot my cane!"

"Gah -!"

And so, they run back down the beach, sand flying under their feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gahhh, this was funnnn  
> lindy and ari are my favorites
> 
> thank u for reading and for all your comments and kudos! ^.^   
> loves ~ willoz


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